Case Study: Turning Around SEO for a UK Franchise
A UK franchise with bricks-and-mortar studios and an e-commerce presence had been working with a top SEO agency — but results weren’t matching the investment. They needed stability, stronger rankings, and a clear strategy that actually worked.
Within twelve months of taking over, SEO became their biggest traffic driver, rankings improved across every key service area, and enquiries and purchases grew.
The Challenge
The brand needed to:
Grow visibility for experiences nationally and locally
Improve search rankings for core services and seasonal promos
Drive more relevant traffic to studio pages and e-commerce products
Manage and optimise multiple Google Business Profiles across the UK
All while moving away from the churn of a big agency setup and into a more stable, focused approach.
The Approach
I streamlined their SEO strategy and focused on what would deliver the biggest gains:
Fixed keyword cannibalisation between product, promo and photoshoot pages
Assigned transactional keywords to the right pages and optimised content
Improved site structure, indexing and technical SEO
Created and optimised new location pages, blogs, and promo content
Managed and optimised Google Business Profiles across multiple studios
Replied to reviews, created weekly posts, and strengthened local search visibility
The Results (in twelve months)
92,000+ new users via organic search — their single biggest traffic driver
Top positions nationally and locally, often outranking high-authority competitors like Virgin Experience Days
Core service pages (family, newborn, pets, maternity, couples) consistently ranking in positions 1–3
Local studio searches (e.g. “near me”) now dominating top spots across the UK
Increased engagement: organic visitors spending 1.17 minutes on average per session with a 61% engagement rate
Purchases and enquiries up thanks to stronger visibility and consistent targeting
“Alice, I want to take a moment to say how much we’ve genuinely enjoyed working with you. You’ve been such a fantastic partner to us — your expertise, professionalism, and guidance have taken us through a real period of transition into stability. The improvements in our rankings across key areas are a testament to your hard work and commitment, and we are so grateful for all you’ve done to strengthen our SEO presence.” — Client testimonial
The Impact
By shifting from a one-size-fits-all agency model to a focused, hands-on SEO strategy, the franchise:
Stabilised rankings in a volatile market
Built authority in both national and local search
Turned organic search into their #1 source of traffic and sales
Achieved growth across multiple locations and the online store
Want to see this kind of turnaround in your own SEO?
Book a Milkshake Audit or explore my done-for-you retainers — and let’s get your business climbing back up the rankings.
